>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler. here are top stories. capitol hill lawmakers, have agreed to ban plastic guns. it doesn't take new technology into account. plastic guns can be made at home using 3d printers and there's concern they can pass through metal detectors unnoticed. >> i don't think i've ever seen a commemoration of the death of a hero like i have here in south africa. >> former president jimmy carter is one of leaders in south africa to be part of the commemoration for nelson mandela. crowds will be filling in the

stadium in just a few hours. urging officials to use restraint in ukraine. thousands of protestors are demanding the leaders resign. opposition party officials in kiev, police have blocked off several protest tent camps set up near government buildings. those are the headlines, i'm john siegenthaler. i'll see you back here 11:00 eastern, 8:00 pacific time. see you then. >> on america tonight: a medical break through, a treatment that could be critical to the future of many patients in the fight against cancer. >> it's not a drug. it's actually engineered cells.

they are growing within the patient. they are attacking the cancer wherever it is. >> also tonight, veterans serving again. how their work brings more hope to the philippines one month after the super-typhoon. >> it really hasn't hit you until you have actually felt it experienced it yourself. >> and a caring bite. the new movement towards sharing a meal and a a tast taste of self-respect. >> and good evening, thank you for joining us, i'm joie chen. we begin our conversation with a look at some of the lives of the most strongest helpful people we

can think of, cancer patients and the medical community that supports their fight. almost in the darkest moments there are miraculous possibilities. tonight we hear about one that seems incredible. brave patients who might otherwise have exhausted all of their options. researchers have found that harnessen a patient's immune system with a modified version of the hiv virus can be a potent treatment. correspondent chris bury tells us the treatment may well be a break through. >> for bob levis, a cancer patient, getting back on his bicycle may be a feat. >> at this time were you getting a will ready? >> i think in 2012 that is one of the few things did i do. i actually worked on the will pretty dismal year. >> a decade earlier while based

in singapore a routine physical revealed that levis had a type of leukemia, a cancer of the blood. >> what was your reaction? >> shock. shocked. leukemia? when you first hear that word, the first question is: well, when am i going to die? >> at first, chemotherapy helped. but then the cancer came back with a vengeance. this time an even tha nastier strain. >> it moved even faster. i knew that. >> what went through your mind? >> oh boy, here we go again. >> he was in such bad shape, levis wore a mask wherever he went. >> you wore this? >> yes, outside, wherever i went, just on here over the ears. bang. >> you were so worried about

getting in effected? >> any -- infected? >> any germs. i didn't want to get sick. >> by now he was getting blood transfusions every week. >> i'm dying. i'm living on transfusions at that point. and you can't live on transfusions forever. >> in january, his time running out, bob plefs decided on a -- levis decided on a hail mary. a radical new approach at the university of pennsylvania. >> to be even eligible for the protocol you have to have no hope left. meaning no fda therapy would work. in bob's case he had about five pounds of tumor at the time we treated him. in bone marrow and places like his spleen and other organs. >> treating leukemia in a revolutionary way. taking white blood cells known as t cells from the sickest patients. then genetically treating them

to attack cancer. they do that by infusing the t cells with a form of the aids virus so it cannot cause the new disease. transfused back into the patient's blood then the fighting begins. >> is there a war going on for your body here? >> it's literally a war, it is a cell you a lacellular war. they go from one tumor cell to the next and kill them. >> a few days after the new t cells entered his blood bob levis could find the war raging within. >> my fever got up to probably just above 104. and it cycled a lot. i'd be sweating the bed. my heart rate was the most amazing thing. it went up over 100 beats per minute, and stayed there, 24-7,

for seven days. so i was racing. just boom boom boom boom boom boom. >> but that meant the new killer cells were invading and attacking. >> that's a good thing. >> that is with this therapy a good thing. and it lasts for a week or two. and then when it goes away generally it means then the leukemia has gone away as a target so the immune system goes back to rest. >> the year before the team at penn ha had treatied their first patient, emily whitehead. >> she had a few weeks. >> no option for treatment? >> this is it. >> this is it. >> dr. stephen grupp took care of emily at children's hospital of philadelphia. >> at the time she came to us her leukemia was completely out of control and not responding to

any rrmin therapy. >> the little girl grew even sicker as the new killer t cells battled her cancer. >> she was as sick as you could be without actually dying. she was in an intensive care unit receiving absolutely amazing care from our docs. multiple organs were failing, she was comatose, the family were told to gather in her reflts because she wasn't likely to survive until the next day. >> her doctors fought just to keep her alive in in what they would call the storm before the calm. on her seventh birthday emily awoke from her coma. >> we did a test and there

weren't any cancer cells and there never have been ever since. >> none at all? >> no cancer that we can detechnicality in her bone marrow anywhere. >> two weeks later bob levis had his cancer tested. >> none there. it was very gratifying. >> end stage leukemia 31 experienced complete remissions. of those only six have seen their leukemia return. the results just published are preliminary but very encouraging. >> this is a completely different way to treat the cancer. they are attacking the cancer wrrve it is. >> has this -- wherever it is. >> has this been a research to deliver a therapy that lives on in the body? >> yes, i think that's the main attraction of cancer gene transfer therapy like this. is that the cells can live on

for the rest of your life. >> the results here are so promising so revolutionary that the swi swiss pharmama novartiss the drug. meanwhile, emily has returned to school. a happy smiling eight-year-old. bob plefs is pruning his fruit trees. the cancer behind him. >> it's amazing that something can happen that quickly. a miracle. just a miracle. here i go, i thought i was going to die. i was preparing to die. now, i'm planning forward again. enjoying friends and family.

>> so bob levis, like so many others in the penn trial, is back in the saddle, looking ahead to a healthier life, and no longer staring at the end of the road. >> correspondent chris bury tells us that bob levis has now been cancer-free for nine months and little emily whitehead she's been cancer-free for 20 months. to get a better idea of what the treatment is involved, we turn to michel liguin. we appreciate you being with us. this is not a treatment for even every leukemia patient? >> not yet. this technology has focused so far on one particular target called cd 19. and so it is relevant to several luke keep yas, in particular the

acute lymphoblastic leukemia in your piece. >> it has to be very serious before it is tried. it is relevant in your center and u penn. >> what makes this story so remarkable are several things. first, obviously, the dramatic results obtained in these patients in very dire conditions. they've exhausted all the million possibilities known to us and -- medical possibilities known to us and they now go on to a phase 1 clinical trial who we typically enroll patients who have very advanced disease. it is very rare to see such incredible results. secondly, this is not just a small observation in one group. our colleagues at chubb and at memorial sloane kettering, these

dramatic results in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. >> the approach we are seeing, not typical with cancer treatment, radiation or using a lot of chemotherapy, it is different in its approach and its direction and its design. >> absolutely. and scientifically, this is perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this story. this is not using a chemical drug. most drugs of course are chemicals. it is not what we call a small molecule. it is not either a cancer vaccine or a monoclonal antibody. it is an entire new class of drugs. we refer to these engineered t cells as living drugs. they are cells from the immune system of the patient that we instruct to recognize and attack their cancer. and as we see in these patients

with relapsed advanced refract tri acute lymphoblastic leukemia they attacked the cells and eliminated them. >> i suppose we have to ask is it applicable to other kind of cancers or do you know yet? >> well, certainly the principle is and that's again another very exciting aspect of this approach. the treatment consists in inserting a gene in the cells of the immune system and that gene can be tailored to recognize and attack different kinds of cancers. it remains to be seen if this is as effective as other cancers but the principle certainly is and many centers today are indeed gearing up for clinical studies in other cancers. >> and i do think we have to ask the question because people make an association with hiv and aids. is there any risk that this would spread aids as it would spread the hiv virus?

>> no. no, for two reasons. first of all, the little piece of the aids virus that is utilized in this therapy serves the purpose of facilitating the insertion of the gene in the patient's t cells. so it's not hiv. it's about 12 to 15% of all of the genetic material of hiv. first more, that element is not required for this therapy. several centers including our own utilize other genetic approaches to insert the gene so the hiv itself is not critical to the outcome in this therapy. >> well, it is quite fascinating research. we appreciate you being with us. dr. michel setalane, sloane kettering center. thank you. coming up next, the world prepares to say good-bye to

nelson mandela and the changes he made in their lives. later in our program, market value, the restaurant that's dirk up a commodity in a california community. -- dishing up a commodity in a california community. america brings you controversial... >> both parties are owned by the corporations. >> ..entertaining >> it's fun to play with ideas. >> ...thought provoking >> get your damn education. >> ...surprising >> oh, absolutely! is hquoo could away.

>> the long walk to a final rest has begun in south africa. where leaders are moving in now to remember nelson mandela. nearly 100 heads of state and leaders, former president of the country, nelson mandela died thursday at the age of 95. a national tribute to mandela will take place at a johannesburg soccer stadium with thousands of ordinary south africans, including cube afternoon president raul castro. alal jazeera's ali velshi is joining us from south africa. tell us what you're seeing, there are so many dignitaries there for the commemoration of

his life. >> i heard said, short of the united nations, this is the largest gathering ever held. like president obama and president george w. bush. jimmy carter arrived earlier, we were actually on the same plane, and i subsequently sat down with him and interviewed him to discuss his relationship, his long standing and very close relationship with nelson mandela. interesting point as the world celebrates nelson mandela jimmy carter says in all the times he talked to him nelson mandela never thanked him for what the american government had done to end apartheid and bring south africa into a post era. this is what he said about nelson mandela. >> i never heard him say that he was grateful to the united states. he was grateful to cuba, he was grateful to others that spoke up for him while he was still in

prison. he was grateful to the people that condemned the apartheid regime. but i don't think that he felt that his freedom and the change that took place in south africa was attributable to the united states. >> in the end joie, nelson mandela appreciated americans. he made many trips to america. he had great relationships with both bushes, with president carter, with president clinton and with president obama. he loved the american people and he felt a great deal of support from them but he didn't feel that the government and the governments of western europe the at the time supported the anc and the antiapartheid cause joie. >> world leaders coming to pay their respects to nelson mandela, they are the poorest people of south africa whose lives were so impacted by what nelson mandela did.

>> he was really the core of his cause. this is the country where 85% of the population, the black population had access to virtually nothing while only a small percentage had access to education and property and wealth. you know in the old days under apartheid blacks couldn't live in the city centers where i am now, they would come in on a daily basis. one of those outsecurities was alexandra township, now fully part of it. just beyond alexandra is the suburb of sandton, probably the richest place on the entire continent, more millionaires in sandton than anywhere else. i went, it wasn't good for 70,000 anyway, but at least double that number live there and some say maybe 3 quarter of a million people live there. there are some houses that the

post-apartheid government built, they are small? they have electricity, the streets have lights, but there were shanties, where there was garbage all over the place, filth, rats, and some people have given up hope. they wanted an end to this, they wanted educational opportunities and work opportunities and training and a new house and they didn't get it. the government admits it is way behind schedule. it's got a lot of work to do but there are some people say they don't see it happening and now that nelson mandela is gone they don't see how it's ever going to happen joie. >> that is hard to fathom. thinking about the impact that nelson mandela and the leadership that came in his wake changed the condition of life in south africa, can you talk to us a little bit about the economic environment in south africa today? is there industry that has developed, where are things going for their economy? >> yeah, so that's the bad side of it is those people who are in

the worst of situations who have not seen an improvement. but in fact there last been generally speaking improvement across the country, it has grown terriblsubstantially from wheres in the apartheid days. you have a feeling of great prosperity. it is a lot safer than it used to be in south africa, education is opened up, health care is more accessible everyone. but bottom line, it's a comparison, i compared it to the united states and people got mad at me for doing it. the rich are getting richer in south africa, the poor are stabilized, probably not getting a lot worse but they are not growing a middle class at the speed, the rate they need to to sustain the infrastructure projects and the education they need to. in that way he compared it to the united states, they need to do much more and they don't have the middle class tax base in which to do it. it is not being felt equally

across the population, and i will say this: folks who are rich in south africa are richer today than they were at the end of apartheid and there are more rich people including a growing black wealthy upper class joie. >> you mentioned safety, security, those are long standing issues particularly in johannesburg. with the world coming to the stage and so much preparation underway for the big events over the next couple of days can you talk to us about the security questions and how that fits in now? >> yeah. so there won't be as many people as were here for world cup in 2010. you know south africa really had that worked out. they did a great job of keeping this place safe and secure. there will be more world leaders however and they will all be in one place. it will be the stadium in which the last game of the final game of the world cup was played. by the way, the place where nelson mandela was last seen in public. it is supposed to last four

hours, it may last much longer. people have no sense of how long it is going to last because it is not a ticketed event. barricades and security controls are in effect. tuesday is the memorial service not the funeral, after the service nelson mandela's body will be taken to pretoria, where the capitol building is, where they call the union building. his body will lay in state so people can pay their respect who didn't get to the service. then he will go near the indian ocean where his family place is. there will be a lot of world leaders tonight, joie. >> ali velshi, we'll continue to follow up with you out there ali. al jazeera america will provide

extended coverage, our live coverage begins at 4:00 a.m. issue, 1 -- eastern, 1:00 a.m. pacific. operation t bird, team rube rubicon, reflects on its mission one month after the event. after the break.

>> and now a snapshot of stories making headlines on america tonight. a judge has sentenced bob filner the former mayor of san diego to six months at home. he was convicted of sexually harassing women in his term. hearing that the nsa is playing along with him too, u.s. and british spice have been taking on world of war craft, it is not clear what if any has

been compromised. the parent companies o of u.s. airways and american airlines, have become one. all of us in the east have noticed a big chill in this part of the country. now led to gridlock on the highways and tarmac throughout the country. the flight tracking website flightaware.com estimates that officials cancelled more than 2,000 flights and delayed more than 6,000 flights sin sunday afternoon. this -- since sunday afternoon. also caused major problems on the roadways. most serious was a 50 car pileup on the pennsylvania turnpike just outside of philadelphia. al jazeera meteorologist dave warren is tracking the conditions. dave. >> this weather pattern will give us another round of winter weather, already seeing that around north dakota. this area of pink surrounded by

winter weather advisory. the wind is starting to pick up, you see maybe a little light snow coming down. dangerous situation there. wind chills well below zero. 30 below in some areas and the visibility has dropped. the area of concern on tuesday, right along i-95 here around washington, baltimore, philadelphia, up near new york winter storm warning issued, lot of snow in a short time together with a winter weather advisory. this is 11:00, this is where the band of heavy snow, i-95 washington to philadelphia could build up, that could dump a lot of snow in a short period of time however it does not last that long. hold tight. the temperature will be below freezing but the road treatment should work and by the afternoon all of this will be clearing out. so a lot of snow coming down right in the middle of the day

and it's going to accumulate quickly but look what happens about 2:00, 3:00, it clears out, this will be a fast moving storm. the conditions will improve for the evening rush at 4:00 or 5:00. untreated surfaces will be slick or slippery, additional snow amounts looking to be about three to five inches and that comes between about 10:00 in the morning and 3:00 in the afternoon. a mix maybe initially then the rain continues where it's just above freezing in virginia, north and south carolina, 95 all the way up to boston you can see that snow accumulate and that will be right in the middle of the day tuesday, dry air on wednesday and thursday but much cold per. >> our meteorologist dave warren. hard to believe it's been a month since supertyphoon haiyan

devastated the philippines. some rebuilding has begun but shanty communities tarps still provide cover. neighbors hammered together what is left of their roofs and even in some hard-hit areas children have been able to go back to their studies. but the nation is struggling with the burden of having nearly 6,000 people dead and more than 1700 still unaccounted for. and there are fears that the needs of the philippines might too soon be forgotten. we've learned about what's needed. in the first days after the typhoon struck, the mead needs were met by air lifts of -- immediate needs were met by air lifts of supplies. food, water, tarps, the most needed supplies, stabilizing the injured and removing the dead. but now that the very basics have been delivered, relief teams and residents have begun to consider the future. while the philippines government

have encouraged residents of shoreline communities to move to safer ground it's not always an easy argument to make. >> they've got to build those bunk houses first so we're working with them to do that. they have already identified some tracts of land where we can do that. but in the meantime it is going to be difficult to convince these people not to go back because they're staying in temporary shelters. >> what can be lost is a sense of community. and there is often a more pragmatic need. jobs. >> people have lost not only their homes but, of course, the mean to sustain their family, everything that was generating income for them is just beyond repair. >> one of the leading reconstruction agencies in the region, the international committee of the red cross, spoke to america tonight about what reconstruction for the philippines most affected looks like today. >> the homes is of course an absolutely central feature because every single day we come across people of course who

don't know where they're going osettle but their families bring them into safety and think again about rebuilding literally from scratch. >> recreating opportunity for the four million plus displaced by the storm is an expensive proposition which will take years. >> we had an initial goal of 15 million swiss francs now we have met. now that we're going to move into the next phase we will need more money. we are clearly appealing to donors to provide more assistance. >> but donations haven't come easily. the typhoon in the philippines did not evoke the same kind of emotional response from the united states that other natural disasters have. >> if you compare haiti and the tsunami that we were just

referring to clearly the reactions and the mobilization was stronger at the time. it may be related to the number of fatalities, the lost of life being both in haiti and the tsunami higher and the shock was even greater in that regard. clearly and thankfully the loss of life has been less extensive, the numbers are lower in terms of the number of people that have actually been killed. but the number of people who have lost their livelihoods run now into the 5 million. those are the estimates. that's huge. but i've always been mindful of not ranking suffering between, because for the individual family in the philippines that is affected, doesn't really matter what has happened elsewhere. they are now in the midst of something that is deeply traumatic and they have to be helped. >> the trauma is still fresh. hundreds remain unaccounted for, their fates may never be known and the families, the greatest

needs that remain are answers. >> one thing that struck me in the philippines is even in the first days you have begun to see, those signs, have you seen this child, have you seen this lost family, do you have any information? what about reunification? is there still a strong sense, there are more missing, that there are more families that need to be reunited, that there is some way to put people back together again? >> this is part of the most heartbreaking experiences that you can have. the official number is somewhere around 1700 mark of people that are unaccounted for. we have collected data with the philippines red cross over 600 people actively being searched and looked for by family members, work of the philippine red cross on the ground trying to locate people. so we are doing our best to try and make sure as much news can come the way of those who have lost a relative.

>> when america tonight was in the philippines i was quite impressed to meet members of team rubicon. in tacloban, one of the heartest hit areas, i talked to law enforcement volunteers, one of the very first responders in the first days after the supertyphoon hit. today we hear from them again how their service in this area made an enormous difference in their own lives. >> i saw a lot of nothing. which was shocking. i saw a lot of what i tried to close my eyes and pretend what i imagined was there before we got there, before the typhoon. there was not a lot left. >> you know the person that struck me i think was flying over some of the affected areas at low level, huge concrete buildings, hotels, just knocked off their foundation, large oil

tanks just knocked off their foundation, crushed like you would a soda can. showed how powerful this wall of water and wind was that hit and you try to imagine what that was like for the folks that was there. team reub con a nonprofit organization -- rubicon is the nonprofit organization, that unites with first responders, in the united states and around the world, to focus on emergency medical care, taking doctors nurses and paramedics into affectareas and then telling the ngos or the countries that are coordinated their response where the aid is needed and where it's delivered. bridge that gap of what's not being done in that first week, first 96 hours after a disaster. we were in the philippines for about eight days. we got there very quick. for me this was the worst thing i've ever seen.

it was-- i was sad to say it was beyond what i had expected. it really didn't hit -- doesn't hit you until you've actually felt it experienced it yourself and i just -- i hope i never or any of us have to ever experience something like that again. it was absolutely devastating. the military experience helped tremendously. i think that all of us collectively going in we were really -- we were prepared for the worst. we were self-sufficient as a team. you know we carried our own food, water, and shelter that we would have needed as well as any extra supplies that we could provide, whereas other groups show up and it might take them a little acclimated, i felt as soon as we got on the ground we got to work right away. >> we were veterans equipped with the skills and ability to go into the situation and thrive. not only help some folks but

make a big difference. we had an incident where we had to medi vac several individuals to from tacloban airport because of some injuries they had. there was some questionable weather. the colonel talked about the pilots, how do you feel about doing this medivac mission? there are six of us who might die to do this mission, let's do it. they saved those lives as a result of going oget them and that was sort of -- to get them and that's sort of one example of going into this. going into this situation is going to take a toll and i don't think we realize it until we get home because we are so focused on the mission. we get there, we slept three, four hours a night, wake up in the morning, right back to work. what's going to happen the next day? what's going ohappen the next day? always focus on the mission. >> it affects you. it takes definitely kind of knocks you back on your heels a

little bit. maybe a lot. >> giving you some strong medicine. >> this is something that you know you've seen pictures. and you know maybe somewhat similar to some of our experience in combat that until you are there with your own eyes and your feet are on the ground it doesn't feel real. but he felt very real as soon as we got the there. and you could just see that we felt like we were in the right place because these were people that needed help and they needed it fast. and i'm just very grateful that our team was able to get there as quickly as we did. >> come up next, without a country, the uproar over a recent court ruling in a haitian case.

>> every morning from 5 to 9 am al jazeera america brings you more us and global news than any other american news channel. >> tell us exactly what is behind this story. >> from more sources around the world. >> the situation has intensified here at the border. >> start every morning, every day 5am to 9 eastern. >> with al jazeera america.

>> the dominican republic is coming under fire from some of its caribbean neighbors, and thousands that consider themselves dominican citizens from a high court policy, noncitizens even if they are born on dominican soil are not spited to citizenship. in haiti against the move. they raised their voices for the stakeless, hundreds gathered in times square driven by a controversial ruling that would leave many without a nation to call home. like fiordoliza matos, a 21-year-old bakery worker born

in the dr to a dominican mother and a haitian father. but speaking spanish she's at risk of being sent to a country she's never even been to. >> my language, style, culture, all of it, without knowing anybody, what am i going to do, who will i be? >> the immigration dispute highlights long standing tensions between haiti and the dominican republic. the highcourt ruling annuls the citizenship after 1929. saying it is about regulating immigration, critics say it is a mood rooter though in a history of fear and racism. >> being dominican means you can be of arab descent, of jewish descent, even of black west indian descent but usually

haitians were secluded from the dominican nation because of the way elite defined dominicanism. >> case in point, the former haitian ambassador to the united states, raymond joseph says he has seen the discrimination first had a hand. he wasn't valued he said, the son of haitian parents born in the dominican republic. once he became a respected journalist writing for the wall street journal. >> i said thank you but no thank you. i had chosen to become haitian. but if i had accepted the invitation of the haitian general, i would be in limbo. >> we saw a bit of your story there, sir, and i appreciate you being with us. i just wanted to try to explain

to u.s. viewers really about the passion about this particular issue, it has really aroused a great deal of concern here and of course in haiti. >> well you know, thi it is i rc today, as -- ironic when the whole world stance to honor mandela, who brought the end of apartheid, in south africa, where here in the caribbean, the dominican republic is trying to bring in apartheid. when we remember what happened in nazi germany, what's happening in the dominican republic is the same thing. they want something for the purity of their race, they think

the dominican republic is a white nation and the haitians are black thing their nation. >> i think it's difficult for the people in the united states to understand, it's a shared island, certainly these cultures there must be some integration here, it is really a sense that there is a racial superiority of one side over the other. >> yes, that's what the dominican elite think. you know, they think they are a white country, spanish country, they support their position to spain. but they say haiti is an african country. and haitians coming into their country are going to blacken their country. they don't remember that the haitians did not come to the dominican republic of their own. are it was during the u.s. occupation of haiti and u.s. occupation of the dominican republic that haitians were

cooks to come over to work this backbreaking work of sugar cean cut -- cane cutting. the backbreaking work of construction. now the dominicans see that over the years the haitians have become quite a large group. and they might tilt their politics, in a different way from what the elite wants. if there is real democracy, the party that supports people that have skin that are less light than the elite of the dominican republic might take power and that's what we're coming at. >> i want to ask you a little bit more about your own story, you see yourself as a real example of the crisis in play here. >> listen, i was born in dominican republic. of haitian parents.

who were working there. and in 1937, there was the massacre of haitians more than 20,000 massacred. and my parents had to take me and my young brother back to haitian. i was born in 1931. so the ruling today going back to 1929, would affect me too. how would it affect me? because when i became a journalist for the wall street journal and gained some notoriety, in 1976 the dominican consul general in new york, invited me to their consulate and offered me dominican nationality. i said no thank you very much, at 18 i decided to be haitian. if i had accepted the citizenship that was offered to me in 1976 today i would also be

in limbo. because i was born after the date of 1929. imagine what would happen to dominican citizens or citizens or american citizens of dominican descent born in the united states, and there are quite a few in new york city. and now that the united states would come and say you no longer americans, because you are of dominican descent. i think dominicans in the diaspora here can understand very well what haitian dominicans are facing now in their country. >> and we appreciate your helping us to understand more about this complex story. the former haitian ambassador to the united states, raymond joseph, thanks very much for being with us. >> thank you. >> coming up in our final segment this evening. an open table. a meaning that's truly worth our wait. dirk out a good eats and a great cause. building community. that's coming up next.

>> and now a techknow minute...

>> and finally from us tonight s who care. a restaurant with a hearty menu and truly exceptional prices, everyone is welcome, treated like family. when it comes to the check you pay what you want, pay what you can. we gather information from one of these eateries, worth our weight, in santa rosa, california. >> our restaurant is open saturdays and sundays only. they have to show up at 6:00 to get the restaurant ready for opening. about 85% the restaurant isn't open at 6:00. there you are in the dark, getting ready, everything that it needs to open at that 9:00 hour. there is no prices on the menu

because it's donation based we do deliver a check at the end of the meal, that says we are a culinary program, we appreciate a fair donation for what you serve. >> put whatever you feel is necessary in the envelope, fill it up, right a comment and stick it right in the box over there. >> if you think about it, restaurants can really have a caste system. if you don't have enough money to eat in a certain restaurant you don't -- you don't walk in. in the community cafes, everyone is welcome regardless of their means. >> here you are. goin it. >> my name is denise cerreta, i'm the founder of one world everybody eats nonprofit, i started in salt lake city utah in 2003. people got it right off. a lot of people would pay for their meal. other people would pay for their

meal, pay a little more. other people could afford to pay a little less. >> i have been at worth our weight for about two years ago. sometimes people leave really small donations, even no donations. there are people that come here that give tons of money just because they love us. >> people who come into the cafe and actually overpay they want to do something special for their community. they want to pay it forward. one day a couple contacted me and wanted to repl replicate the cafe, calling it the same cafe. we have what we call our family that are doing the pay what you can concept. >> they come a lot of these people on fixed incomes can't afford to pay to eat out but they really love the food. and i thought well if we make it

a donation based cafe then we don't lose our seniors. >> most community cafes draw a population that you wouldn't necessarily think need help and it's the middle class. it's a single parent, it's a student. when we're talking about student insecurity, it doesn't mean that someone's out on the street. it means maybe they have a $2 lunch budget instead of a 15, or $8 lunch budget. >> there's very little money, more money and all of a sudden no money. sometimes we take advantage of that. >> some of the community cafes have failed. usually not enough community involvement or starting a business on a whim, undercapitalization. i think most of the community cafes that are successful have the right ingredients, good food, good service, all that plus they have a very passionate visionary and they gather a team around them that care about the

concept. i run a program in santa rosa, california called worth our weight, culinary apprentice program for teens at risk. the purpose of the program is to teach them culinary skills in a real restaurant environment. >> those look great. i'm so glad we have so much chocolate. >> the kids do everything here. they're trying to greet people. they're trying to cook on the line. they're trying to do all the backups. they wash the dishes. they put the dishes away, they slice the fruit, they serve the tables, they do everything. >> one spring makes one of these and the romaine and mix them all together. >> the kids coming into this program come from all kinds of backgrounds. we look for kids who are aging out of foster care. we look for kids who are on probation or have been on probation. we have had about 100 kids go through this program in the last

couple of years. we guarantee them a job in the industry. i think donation based restaurants are a beautiful thing because a lot of the food world has become sort of elitist and precious. and when you get right down to it, it's food, you know, it's just food. and i like it for us especially because we are part of a neighborhood. we are part of a community. and it all works out in that way. it pall works out but you're -- it all works out but you're not leaving anybody out. >> and that is a real flavor for a community. that's it for us here on america tonight. please remember if you would like to comment on any stories you have seen here log on to our website, aljazeera.com/americatonight. we will have more of americamericatheamericatonight,.

welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. here are the top stories. winter storm warnings have been posted as a storm bridges ice cold and snow to billions of americans. air lines have been promped to cancel 1500 flights nationwide. >> i don't think i have ever seen a commemoration of the death of a hero like i have here in south africa. >> former president jimmy carter is one of world leaders coming to this soccer stadium tomorrow and attend an historic memorial for nelson mandela in johannbu